


like it's christmas

by fantasiar



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28275885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasiar/pseuds/fantasiar
Summary: Jeno plans to gift Renjun his perfect Christmas.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & Lee Jeno
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	like it's christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eloquencia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquencia/gifts).



> hey, junnie, this one is for you. ♡  
> since we cannot spend christmas day together, our characters did it for us. hope you like it. 
> 
> the title of this fic was taken from the song "like it's christmas" by jonas brothers. the link will be at the end.
> 
> thank you, may, for reading and helping me with this. you're the #1 lunnie supporter.

**December 9th**

Jeno loved Christmas. He usually kept that as a secret, it was silly, but he genuinely enjoyed the energy that time of the year brought. He loved waking up to Frank Sinatra as he waited for the first snow; he loved drinking hot chocolate as he watched Christmas romances; he loved saying “Happy Holidays!” to every customer at work; he loved seeing the purest smiles on children’s faces among other things. Jeno wasn’t religious, he believed it was a holiday perpetuated by Coke, and he didn’t even like the day itself, but he couldn’t help but love that time of the year. To Jeno, the day was about love, hope, and healing. It was time to share and make wishes for the upcoming year. And like every time, he hoped to make it memorable.

The clock was almost hitting eight at night and Jeno had only two episodes left from the new romance he had started earlier that day. In his defense, the episodes were short and he had nothing better to do as it was his day off and Renjun had a lecture to attend, plus it was fun and addicting. The story followed the Christmas of a broken-hearted guy who had found a notebook full of dares in his favorite bookstore and decided to play with it which led him to a mysterious girl who would change his mind about the world’s biggest holiday. It was cliche and entertaining enough to make Jeno’s mind go insane with everything he’d like to do. 

Lily, the protagonist, was about to make a stupid decision when a grumpy Renjun entered the apartment causing Jeno to hit pause. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Renjun announced, “Today was shit.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jeno asked, but Renjun just shrugged as he took off his coat and boots saying he’d rather take a shower first. Jeno nodded and when he heard Renjun close the bathroom door, he made his way to the kitchen, determined to make Renjun feel at least a bit less stressed.

Renjun had always been able to make Jeno’s day better, even if it was just a little. Days with Renjun were always filled with love. It was in the way he always made sure to look out for him, in the minimum details, showing that he cared-- like the way he’d always sent Jeno pics that reminded their friendship, how he’d always watch Jeno’s recommendations, even if they were bad, just to make him happy. It was in his “good morning” messages and words. Jeno only hoped to do the same for him and his try was in a mug of hot chocolate.

When he made his way to the living room, Renjun was already sitting on the sofa, hiding among sheets as he scrolled through his phone. Not much of him could be seen beside his messy hair, the pink streaks almost gone after constant washes, and below it all, Jeno could get a glimpse of Renjun’s fox patterned socks, which made Jeno laugh a little, almost causing the hot chocolate to spit. He looked cute, Jeno thought to himself.

Soon, Renjun noticed his presence and made space for him on the sofa. Jeno sat beside him, handing him the mug, and received a muffled compliment in response. Renjun took a sip of it, letting the warm sensation heat his body as he moved closer to Jeno’s arms that hugged him back.

“So, what happened today?” Jeno asked as he moved his hands through Renjun’s hair.

“For starters, I got late to my first class, and when I realized it was _that_ cold outside, I didn’t have enough time to come back and change to a warmer coat. And then, all my group members presented really lacking searches for our project and it made me mad ‘cause I worked hard for a good grade and they didn’t even care. I took so long fixing the problems that I lost the track of time for lunch which caused me to spend a good amount of money on a coffee to watch the most boring lectures of my life.” Renjun said in one go. “And, as if it wasn’t enough my mom said we’ll be going to my uncle's house for Christmas.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” 

“I didn’t want to bother.”

“You’re never a bother, Junnie, you know that,” Jeno said with a pout. He always made faces when talking about his feelings as a mechanism to hide his shyness. “And what’s up with your uncle’s house?”

Renjun sighed, “They just talk too much, they’re loud, they ask me the same annoying questions every year and they never help when it’s time to clean. After this snowball of year, I only wanted to enjoy the holidays in peace.” He took a last sip from the mug and leaned back to Jeno’s shoulders, closing his eyes as he rested.

They remained in silence for a while and then Jeno had an idea, “Junnie, what would be your perfect Christmas?”

It may have been Lily’s fault, but at that moment Jeno felt even more excited about making the best Christmas of his youth (and luckily, Renjun’s by chance).

Jeno had always imagined his perfect day: it started with eating the sweetest french toast for breakfast, followed by a snowy afternoon, and ended with dinner with his closest friends. If he closed his eyes, he could picture it perfectly. The scene brought a smile to his face.

Renjun seemed to think for a second and quickly answered, “Spending the day in the snow, having dinner with you guys, talk, play board games, exchange gifts. Simple, but fun.”

Jeno laughed, “Our ideal Christmas is the same, I can’t believe this.”

He felt like someone had just turned the lights on inside his brain. He knew there was no way they’d ever ditch their parents on Christmas day but they could make it work. They could make their own Christmas.

“We could do that,” Jeno suddenly spoke.

“I just told you I’m going to my uncle’s house for Christmas.” Renjun tiredly answered.

Then, Jeno shook his head and turned to him, “What I meant is… we could make our own Christmas. We’d set our own date, do whatever we want and eat whatever we want. I’d be fun.”

Renjun was silent for a second as he thought about Jeno’s words and said back, “Do you want to change Jesus’ birthday?”

“First of all, there’s no confirmation Jesus was born on December 25th, it’s like a fanmade date. Second, this was never about him.”

Renjun rolled his eyes and tried to hide his smile, “Okay, let’s do this.”

Later that night, when Jeno laid in bed, instead of searching for some shitty rom-com, he quickly opened his notes app and started typing, afraid that his ideas would vanish away.

**JUNNIE’S PERFECT CHRISTMAS**

**by Jeno**

**1\. Decorate the house**

**2\. Watch Christmas movies**

**3\. Wear matching sweaters!**

**4\. Spend time in the snow**

**5\. Dinner (talk to Hyuck and Nana)**

**6\. Gifts !!!!**

He was ready to play.

**December 12th**

Saturday morning was cold. Jeno had set an alarm for eight in the morning because he thought it’d be good to go shopping early in the morning as the streets were probably less congested. Renjun seemed to differ since he was grumpier than usual and that only intensified when they got to the store.

The thing is, Jeno had been too optimistic. The store was crowded, full of desperate moms and children yelling at a variation of toys and snowglobes. Everything inside was Christmas themed and Jeno could feel at least six Santa Clauses staring at him. By his side, he sensed Renjun’s piercing gaze as in a way that yelled, “I told you so,” and Jeno felt a bit stupid to think a fancy shop would be okay in the world’s most capitalistic season.

He turned to Renjun and smiled, “It could be worse, you know? We could be at a department store.”

Renjun kept quiet as he proceeded to get a kart and start their shopping.

Not much time later their kart was almost full. They had picked up a four feet tall fake tree to decorate the living room, about six boxes of decorations in tones of red and gold, tiny bells, laces, and three boxes of fairy lights to involve the tree and their rooms. Besides that, Renjun had picked cute cookie shapes and deer tiaras, and Jeno chose some snowman pillowcases. 

At payment time, the cashier was dressed as an elf and kept sending flirty glances to Renjun, which made him embarrassed. Jeno found it hilarious, he could even hear him saying “You hate me” inside his mind as he tried not to laugh.

They got home with a giant box and many bags that were immediately unpacked. Eventually, the floor was covered with glitter and fake plants from building the tree, and Jeno’s Christmas playlist had been played over three times. 

By noon, it was all ready. Renjun held Jeno’s hand and moved to the front door so they could take a look at the living room. The tree had been placed beside the sofa and took most of the free space they once had, Jeno had lifted Renjun in his arms so he could put a gold star on top of it and the result brought him a tight feeling of nostalgia. The deep-blue pillowcases matched well with the sofa and had a nice contrast with the recently painted blue wall. Seeing the decorations all together gave the apartment a warm feeling of belonging, it was theirs. And Jeno wouldn’t say it out loud but Renjun’s smile had made it all worth it.

“What do you think?” Renjun asked Jeno. He was still wearing the deer tiara.

Jeno held his hand tighter, “I think it’s perfect.”

  
  


**golden trio + 1**

**(hyuck, nana, renjun, you)**

**jeno**

hey love birds

what do you guys think of a Christmas dinner?

not in the actual date tho

**nana**

i want that! (≧◡≦)

**hyuck**

sounds exciting!

when is this happening?

**jeno**

does Saturday work for you two?

i’ve talked to jun already

**hyuck**

‘s golden!

**nana**

looking forward! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

**December 14th**

The first snow of December happened on a Monday. Jeno had been working at the time and only found out about it when his shift ended and he was able to read the tons of messages he had received, all sent by Renjun. As he was in a rush to get the subway, he couldn’t decipher the grey boxes perfectly, however, he could picture a bunch of exclamation marks and pictures taken at their balcony allowing him to see the weather outside. In one of the pictures, Renjun had a big smile, and next to him was a heart drawn on the window, he seemed happy and that made Jeno smile all the way home. 

“Renjun?” Jeno called the second he got inside the apartment and almost immediately he heard a response from the corridor. Jeno made his way to Renjun’s bedroom and announced as he leaned to the door frame, “Get dressed. We’re going out.”

Renjun glanced up from his paint and furrowed his eyebrows at him. He was already on his sleeping clothes that consisted of a set of long sleeves and plaid pants, this time each of his socks had a huge Mickey Mouse print. He moved from behind the painting stand and cleaned his hands with a tissue as he got closer to the door.

“What for? It’s already dark outside.” He asked.

Jeno made a face, “So what? Do you want to miss the first day of snow by staying inside?”

Renjun looked at him and smiled, already making way to his wardrobe. 

“That’s what I thought!” Jeno said proudly.

Ten minutes later, they were already outside, making their way to the nearest park. The streets were filled with lights that reflected gold in puddles, the shop windows exhibited bold red letters selling winter clothes, everything exhaled so much cheer… it was as magic as the songs described. As they walked, Jeno pointed out all the interesting decorations he put his eyes on and teased Renjun every time he saw a man dressed as Santa. Thankfully, for Renjun, they did not take long to arrive at their destination.

At that time of the night, the park was almost theirs. There weren’t many people around, besides them, only a few couples walked through the stone paths. After walking for a few minutes, they sat on a bench placed in front of the field. All they could see was the vast extension of grass, where people usually had picnics over the summertime, the trees had layers of white snow and behind it all, the buildings grew taller. It was calm and silent, the snow fell slowly, truly a dreamy sight.

“It’s nice being here with you,” Jeno said after a while. He knew that behind the scarf, Renjun was probably thinking about what to answer. However, before he could say anything, Jeno continued, “It’s funny to think that months ago I thought that you’d hate me when all that I feel now is that we complete each other. Sometimes I think I’ll never meet somebody that gets me as much as you. I’m happy we met, I have no idea how life would be without you.”

Renjun didn’t answer right away and he didn’t need to, instead, he just put his arms around Jeno’s shoulder and held him tightly. After a few seconds, he spoke, “I’m happy we met too.”

For a while, they just stayed there, enjoying each other’s presence and watching the snowflakes fall slowly. Jeno thought he could stay forever in Renjun’s arms. He was aware of everything around them and desperately wanted it to _stay_ , as in a moment you never want to forget. He was sure he wouldn’t.

It was cold outside, but they had each other. And that was enough to make their hearts warm.

**December 18th**

The previous days seemed to have passed in a span of seconds. Maybe the reason was the increase of things they had to do. It had gotten too cold for them to feel like going outside, Jeno would get home exhausted after work from all the crazy Christmas orders people sent to the bakery, and Renjun felt even more drained as he promised tutoring lessons for a few students and it all collided with the painting commissions he’d started online and paperwork. It was tiring. So every night after dinner, they’d sit on the sofa with tons of blankets to watch some Christmas movies that were always previously chosen by Renjun, it went from Disney animations to romances and a Home Alone marathon. Jeno would always sleep during one of the movies and Renjun would always tease him about it. 

That night was different. Renjun had gone out to a reunion with his historian friends in some bar and that left Jeno home alone, not in a Kevin McCallister way, but that didn’t mean Jeno wouldn’t have questionable ideas on how to spend his time alone on a Friday night. The thing was that there were only a few hours left to their dinner with Donghyuck and Jaemin and staring at a Christmas tree for one hour reminded him that he still hadn’t crossed all the things on his list.

He opened his notes app to see that there were two numbers yet to be done. Matching pajamas and gifts, both with exclamation points. To tell the truth, Jeno hadn’t forgotten about those, he just hadn’t finished. He was bad with gifts, he never knew what to buy or what to do, he was bad with words and writing letters, nothing seemed enough, so he wanted to make things special.

On Tuesday, Jeno had decided that instead of studying in his hours off, he’d go shopping for gifts and it was easier than he had expected. He’d bought a notebook for Donghyuck so he could organize his song lyrics; for Jaemin, a refill of polaroid paper; and for Renjun, a new book of his favorite’s collection together with a hoodie. Then, in a stationery store, he’d bought things to decorate all of those and gift bags.

Jeno took all of the bags hidden inside his wardrobe, put everything on his bedroom floor, and started working. Two cans of energetic drink later, he made his way to the living room, placed the three bags under the tree, and went to sleep.

**December 19th (or, Christmas day)**

Jeno woke up to the sound of his alarm ringing, he leaned in to turn it off and spent five more lazy minutes in bed before officially waking up. He walked through the corridor and noticed that Renjun’s bedroom had the door closed, which meant he was still sleeping. 

It was _the_ day, Christmas day, at least for them, and Jeno wanted everything to work as he planned. It was working so far. He’d woken up before Renjun, set the table with a red towel and matching plates, organized the cutlery, and placed the food in the middle. Jeno had provided French toast, cake, orange juice, everything brought the day before, from the bakery. It reminded him of breakfast at his grandmother’s house.

When Renjun woke up, he laughed at his dedication, but Jeno could see it was from happiness, all genuine emotions. They took longer than usual to eat as Renjun told Jeno funny stories from his night out and they kept exchanging jokes. Laughter warmed the moment as the snow fell outside.

The afternoon passed quickly while they cleaned the house to look presentable for guests and eventually, Renjun mentioned the bags under the tree.

“What’s this about?” He asked Jeno who had been organizing coats at the door.

Jeno turned around to face him and placed his hands on his waist, “Well, it seems like Santa Claus dropped by yesterday night.” 

Renjun sent him a look and Jeno laughed at his impatience. They were so used to this.

“Close your eyes,” Jeno demanded and Renjun did as it was told. The coats were left aside as Jeno made his way to the three and picked a blue bag. He pushed him towards his room until he was in front of the mirror and handed him the bag. “You may open.”

“Why are we here?” Renjun asked, a bit anxious about the surprise.

“So you can see your gift properly, now open it,” Jeno said excitedly.

The moment Renjun got his eyes on what was inside he immediately felt stupid. He didn’t know what he was waiting for, but it wasn’t _that_. But it was Jeno after all, of course, the chances were sixty percent of things going wrong.

“You hate me,” Renjun said as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Jeno’s gift consisted of a red hoodie with white pom poms glued in the hood, sleeves, and edges. In the middle, Jeno had glued a vertical sequence of black buttons. It looked ridiculous.

“You’re the cutest Santa Claus I’ve ever seen,” Jeno said from behind him with a big smile on his face.

He raised his open hand, asking for Renjun to wait, and opened his wardrobe to pick a folded green piece. When Jeno unwrapped it, he realized what it was about. Jeno’s piece was a green hoodie that had been involved in a sparkling strip that resembled a tree branch together with Christmas lights. He pressed a button in one of the sleeves and the lights started to blink in colorful colors. 

Jeno pointed at himself so proudly it left Renjun amazed, he couldn’t put himself to laugh. They were a Christmas tree and Santa Claus.

As in synchrony, they heard the bell ringing from the living room and Renjun prepared himself for another wave of embarrassment.

Donghyuck and Jaemin waited at the door, both with two boxes of pizza in their arms. Jeno welcomed them inside and they made themselves comfortable on the sofa, they weren’t strangers, there was no need for making appearances.

“Renjun, I didn’t recall you being so stylish,” Was the first thing Donghyuck said when he got his eyes on him.

From the kitchen, they heard Jeno yell, “He had the best stylist!”

Renjun just raised his arms in withdrawal and sat with them, being greeted by Jaemin with a big hug as they waited for Jeno to set the table. In minutes he called every one, just like a mom would do, and they all sat together.

The night went slowly as they ate Christmas dinner (four different pizza flavors with Coke) and updated each other about their lives. They played karaoke yelling every word, not caring about the neighbors. They laughed as if there was no tomorrow. Exchanged gifts. Took ugly polaroid pics and hung them by the tree. In the end, when they were already wasted, they made a toast with cheap wine. To all their moments together.

It wasn’t much different from their other hangouts, but every moment with them felt special, Jeno thought. It was special because it was _theirs_.

  
  


**December 25th (actual Christmas date)**

**jeno**

here’s a song for you… Like It’s Christmas by Jonas Brothers

merry christmas junnie!! 

**renjun**

merry christmas, jen 

♡

**Author's Note:**

> everyday that i'm with you...
> 
> [listen to the song](https://youtu.be/d_Bb8wRx_T4)


End file.
